Trick-or-Treating 2009

We went to Aunt Mimi's house for Halloween this year... it's been our tradition for many years. She lives in a nice neighborhood right in Rockford. Rylee had a last minute costume change, just like she did last year! I was digging through my box of costumes and convinced her to be a black cat like Aunt Maria and I! She was a spider witch at school, but for some reason didn't want to be one any more for trick or treating! Travis and Tyson were both skeletons. We only went around one block and we stayed on one side of the street. It was quick because it was cold and because the kids do not need a million pieces of candy! This is the first year that the kids were faster than the parents! They were RUNNING! One house was very scary... it had black plastic wrapped around the entire front porch. A hand was sticking out of a hole and a man's face was also peeking out and he was saying, "Heeeeelp me!!" I thought it was hilarious, but Tyson was scared to death! Once we got back to Mimi's house, the kids had a blast passing out candy to the other trick-or-treaters.

Blue Hat, Green Hat

This is Tyson's favorite book. He can read it all by himself... as long as he concentrates on all those colors! He is my little cutie pie! :)

Fall Family Pics

Need an update?

I set up a "store" for the daycare kids. The kids had so much fun with construction paper money, a cash register, and some shopping carts.
This is Travis and Tyson in their Halloween costumes! I think they are adorable skeletons!
"Best Buddies" Ty and Tyson. 2 boys in a pink Barbie Jeep! Love it!!
Travis building a castle!
Rylee is getting so grown up!!
Why is it so hard for me to keep this blog updated? I think I spend way too much time on Facebook! Life at the McKellar household is great! The kids are doing really well in school. Rylee LOVES her two teachers who job-share. In her words, "I am so lucky because I have TWO awesome teachers!" I emailed her teachers to see how she is doing, and they had only wonderful things to say about her. She is reading chapter books like crazy, and she truly loves to learn. She is best friends with Chloe, and they are so cute together (Chloe's mom actually went to school with me!). Travis is doing well in kindergarten too. He will be turning 6 on the 30th of this month. We are planning a Pirate Party on Halloween to celebrate his birthday. Trav goes to school on 2 or 3 days a week. He gets bored on the days he is home, but it has also been a good chance for us to hang out... just the 2 of us. After I put the daycare kids down for nap, we usually play a game together or do something fun. I do foresee many playdates in his future though. It's nice to have a friend here to entertain him. Tyson is doing really well too. It's funny to think he used to struggle in the area of speech, because now he talks our ears off. And he says the FUNNIEST things! One of my favorite words of his right now is "Kaboni" which is Bologna! Tyson is Bryan's little shadow. The second Bryan gets home from work, there is Tyson hanging on him and following him every where. This weekend we are doing our family photo shoot up at the Campground, so look for some cute family pics soon to come!! :) Happy Fall to everyone!

Slacker Blogger

It seems like most people on blogspot are slacking lately, including myself. I love when people update, yet I haven't been updating myself! A friend told me that I should change the title of my blog, but I have decided to keep it. Just cause Jon and Kate are splitting up, doesn't mean Kate and Bryan are! :) Poor Jon and Kate.

As for the McKellars, what is new? We have been enjoying the summer, even though it is the coldest summer I can ever remember. NOT a good summer to get a pool! I have only been in it a handful of times, but the kids go in every day! We are planning a big pool party at the end of August with family and friends, so I am crossing my fingers for a hot, sunny day! Now I am working on Bryan to get a hot tub.... then our deck will be 100% perfect! And you would understand why I want one when you feel how cold our pool is! :)

The kids are all growing and are all at a fun age. Rylee will be turning SEVEN in a few weeks. She has pretty much been my daycare assistant all summer. Anytime the baby cries, Rylee is right there to help. I can't believe she will be entering 2nd grade this fall! I have been doing "summer school" with the kids during nap time this summer. Rylee loves to learn, and she excels in all areas. She just sent out the invites for her first sleepover birthday party. She invited about 10 cousins and friends for a pool party. That should be interesting! Rylee is very smart, very mature, very funny, and boy will we have our hands full as she gets older!

Travis is also growing like a week and becoming such a sweet little boy. There are now less tantrums... not ZERO, but less! He is very competitive. He loves games and he loves to win. We are still working on not being a sore loser with him. He is seriously turning into a little poker star. Anytime there are cards or games around, Travis is there. He loves riding his bike and playing in the sand. He and Aaron are always out in the woods exploring or building a fort out of tree branches. Trav is also doing great with his summer school work. He is beginning to read already (he will be in Kindergarten in the fall) and it just amazes me how quickly he is picking up on it. He can read the whole book that we have been working on this summer. He has also become quite the swimmer this summer in our pool!

Tyson is talking our ears off. Everything is "WHY?" and "HOW COME?" His speech is quite amazing. He has a funny way of talking... kind of an accent. He says the funniest things too. "Peas don't do dat" is a favorite line of his. He is obsessed with matchbox cars. He will play all on his own for long periods of time with his cars and trucks. As for swimming with Tyson, he refuses to go in the pool. We will have to work on that fear of water with him!

What's new with Kate? Nothing too exciting! I have been busy with daycare. Most days I have six or even 7 kids here. Somehow it worked out that I have Fridays off (well, just Aaron. But he doesn't count). I will have 1 or 2 openings in the fall once school starts, so the calls are coming in and I even had an interview last night (which went really well! cross your fingers that they choose me!). I have decided to really attack the diet thing. I have gained 20 pounds back from my 40 pound weight loss a few years ago. I realize this is a lifelong battle for me. I am having a hard time turning 30 this December, so I have decided it will be easier if I am skinny and looking good at 30! So now I am suffering with being hungry all the time and I have sore muscles. But beauty is pain, right?

Bryan is doing well too. Last week we took a long weekend camping trip in Interlochen. My gf Dana went with her 2 boys, and Bryan took care of our family as well as hers. He had to set up and take down 2 pop-ups. He is such a great guy! He just got a side job doing trim and installing some doors for our neighbors, so he will be off making some extra money! He is also our pool boy! He's always skimming it, vacuuming it, and making sure the chemicals are right. Believe it or not, we will be celebrating our NINE YEAR ANNIVERSARY on the 18th of August. We will also be attending Bryan's 10 year high school reunion this Saturday!

So, that's our summer update. Have a great rest of your summer all!!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Witt!!

One of my most favorite couples ever (Bryan's cousin), Mike and Nikki, got married on Saturday. Travis was their ring bearer, and he looked totally handsome! His cousin, Payton, was the flower girl. What an adorable pair they made!! The wedding turned out to be gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and the reception was a blast. We were so happy to be a part of this couple's special day. I can't wait to watch them grow in their marriage and grow as a family!

I think Summer is finally here!!

Babies and haircuts

Auntie Ann and Daniel
Kate and Cameron
Travis' new cool haircut!
All the boys with their new style!
How cute is he?!?!?! SOOOO cute!
Aunt "Ria" gave all the boys new "spikey" haircuts! Daniel is getting bigger and bigger and cuter and cuter! Although he is not in the spikey hair club yet! I also got to see Cameron again when Megan came by my mom's garage sale! He is still super tiny and super adorable!!

Let the Camping Begin!

I was just thrilled to be opening up this camping season at Pentwater's Mears State Park last weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we had a really great time. We went with our friends, The Pells. My niece Payton came along too, which was PERFECT for keeping Rylee happy. For some reason, all my friends have a bunch of BOYS and Rylee never has any girls to play with! We climbed Old Baldy a few times, the kids rode their bikes, we made pizza hobo pies, we sat around the campfire, we ate too much food, and we enjoyed the beautiful weather! The kids even took a dip in FREEZING cold Lake Michigan. Our camper is just a bit too big for us though, so this was our last camping trip with it. We are looking for something a bit smaller, like a pop-up!

Welcome to the World, Cameron Kyle!

Megan and Pat are now the proud parents of Cameron Kyle Ellison. He is so precious, and he really does fit right into the family. It is so weird for me to see Megan with 4 kids though! I am so happy that Cameron's jaundice is all gone now and he is completely healthy. Congrats to the entire Ellison Family!

Mother's Day

Grandma Kathy is so much fun!!!
Bailey, Travis, and Noah
My mom and my Grandma Hessler ("Donny")
I didn't take many pictures on Mother's Day, but here are the few I did take. We had a great day. First we ate dinner at my mom's with the Hessler side of the family. Then we went up to Bryan's mom's house for more food! We had banana splits, and Grandma squirted whipped cream in the kids' mouths! I got a new fan for Mother's Day, and I LOOOVE it! We must sleep with a fan on at night, and this one is wonderful! It may sound like a funny gift, but it's perfect for me!!

Tyson's field trip to the Zoo!

So much fun standing under the waterfall!
The bears were so active and fun! My FAVORITE part of the zoo!
Aaron smiling at lunch time!
Travis cheesing it up too!
I love this one of Tyson! We stopped and had a picnic lunch!
Tyson with his teachers.... Miss Annette and Miss Pam
Travis, Aaron, and Tyson on the train
Posing with the penguins!
Posing in front of the fish, even though you can't see the fish!

Tyson's entire Special Ed Section at Meadow Ridge had a field trip to the zoo last Friday. I took Travis and Aaron along too! It was a gorgeous day... we could not have asked for better weather. I am so happy that Tyson was able to be a part of that program. I don't think he will qualify next year though!